Especially in cases work plates are supporting equipment which needs to be adjusted as to height, depending on the prevailing operating conditions, the problem of balancing the weight of the equipment arises in order to make height adjustments of the work plate without undue exertion, while at the same time keeping the space requirements for the structural counterbalance elements at a minimum. In particular, sewing machine tables or cabinets require a work plate which can be vertically adjusted to enable the sewing machine on the plate to be lowered completely below the table top, and further, to move the work plate into two different operating positions in which the arm of the sewing machine is either at the level of the table top or is freely disposed above the table top. In carrying out these operations, it is neccessary to counterbalance the considerable weight of the sewing machine so that the height of the work plate can be adjusted effortlessly by the usually female user of the sewing machine. It is desirable for the sewing machine to take up only as much space in the cabinet or table as is absolutely necessary and leave enough room for sewing materials without making the sewing machine table or cabinet excessively big. However, there is usually not enough room left, neither beneath nor above the work plate, to accommodate the structures necessary for weight balancing.